Simple Ways to Fix Your Sticking or Sagging Doors

Doors that stick and sag are often troublesome because they are hard to operate. Fortunately, there are effective and easy-to-implement solutions to this common problem. There are three methods you can try: planing the door, adjusting the door’s hinge screws, or drawing in the jamb. Handyman Connection of Alpharetta explains more:

• Planing the Door – First, scrive the door by setting a pencil tip and compass point 3/8in. apart and then running this point along the door jamb. You can also use masking tape to make your pencil line easier to see. Now, you need to use a belt sander to remove excess wood from the door. Make sure to sand right up to the line, but not into the line. Pay careful attention and check your work regularly to make sure that you’re not making a beveled edge. Seal the edge by staining or painting.

• Tightening or Adjusting the Door Hinge – You can draw in the hinges if you don’t want to plane the door. Inspect the door’s screws and see if they are loose. If they are, tighten the screws in the door and in the jamb. When tightening, make sure to use a screwdriver and not a drill to avoid stripping the screw holes. If you find that one of the holes is already stripped, then you can replace the stripped-jamb screws with 3-in. screws.

• Drawing In the Jamb – Do this by driving a long screw through the “latch” side of the jamb. You will need to pre-drill a hole and use a countersink bit to create a recess for the screwhead. Then you can drive a 3-inch screw into the wall framing. This will draw in the jamb once you tighten the screw. Cover the screwheads with wood filler, sand it and then paint the area to match the door and make the screwheads unnoticeable.

As the leading home maintenance expert in our area, Handyman Connection of Alpharetta can provide you with a quick and effective solution to your door problems. We have many years of experience with carpentry and we have helped countless homeowners. We can also assist you with remodeling, painting and other home maintenance tasks. Contact us to learn more about fixing your doors. You can also request an estimate.